Windows: There are apps that give you a dock in Windows to quickly launch applications, but Multibar does that and more. In addition to quick access to commonly used apps, the tool gives you quick access to recently modified files, smart folders full of items based on what you've used recently, news on the web, web search, local weather, and other informational widgets that you can customize.

At first blush, Multibar looks like any dock-like app for Windows, like previously mentioned (and still a favorite,) Rocketdock, but the utility does more than that. In addition to giving you a application launcher, Multibar automatically populates folders with files and documents you've recently accessed and then sorts them for you so you can get to recent videos, documents, photos, and other files quickly. The app offers one-click web searches, whether you're looking for something at Google, Wikipedia, or want to check out the latest breaking news and top stories.

You can also add folders and web sites to Multibar, see local weather, and more. While Windows 7's native toolbar has a lot of these features, but not all of them—and the app also supports Vista and XP, which have none of them. Multibar is in beta, supports 32 and 64-bit operating systems, and is completely free.